El Paso authorities warn of banking, cellphone scams

El Paso police are warning residents of a phone scam that asks for personal banking information.

Police said officers with the Financial Crimes Unit have received complaints about the scam, in which victims are contacted by someone claiming to be from the Social Security Administration.

The caller tells the victims there have been issues with their Social Security benefits, and asks for the name of their banking institution, their bank account number and other personal information.

Police said officials with the Social Security Administration will never request personal banking information over the phone, and such information should never be given out during unsolicited calls.

According to the Better Business Bureau, another scam plaguing cellphone users during the holiday shopping season are spam texts claiming the recipient has won a gift card to a major retailer such as Best Buy, Target or Walmart.

In the gift-card scam, the text contains a website link that features the retailer's logo and colors and appears authentic, but is actually a way for scammers to obtain personal information.

Officials with the Better Business Bureau recommend forwarding any suspicious texts to 7726, or SPAM, which will alert your cellphone carrier to block future texts.

The holidays are a common time for such scams, and police also are reminding the public to protect their personal information while shopping.

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Police said shoppers should know where their credit and debit cards are at all times, keep their personal identification number, or PIN, private and protected, retain all shopping receipts, and reconcile accounts after shopping.

Police also recommend making a police report if you notice your cards are missing or if unauthorized charges appear on your accounts.

Anyone who believes they might have been victimized by this or any other scam are asked to call police at 832-4400.

Adriana M. Chávez may be reached at achavez@elpasotimes.com; 546-6117. Follow her on Twitter @AChavezEPTimes.